Speak Up! Act Up! For a New America

Speak Up! Act Up! is inspired by the effort to enable and encourage a diverse range of American young people to participate in the political process, based on the concern that "Because young people don't vote, policy makers don't consider our needs. So we are marginalized." Breakthrough advocates for the participation of young people in the creation of a country in which:

• every American has the right to vote and exercises that right
• every American has access to reproductive healthcare and choice
• immigration laws protect families; legislation such as the PATRIOT act and the CLEAR act ("which would force police to report their interaction with immigrants to the federal government and could lead to deportation of undocumented immigrants") are repealed and legislation such as the DREAM act ("which would allow undocumented immigrant youth to gain legal status and attain an education") and the Civil Liberties Restoration Act are passed.

Public forums featuring a mix of information, motivation, and entertainment are one strategy for mobilising youth. At these gatherings in cities throughout the United States, young people hear leaders from organisations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Immigration Forum speak; take part in youth-oriented workshops; and watch performers like slam poetry group Blackout Arts Collective, comedians like Dean Obeidallah, and dance troupes like the Mango Tribe. For instance, at the Youth Forum for Change in April 2004, hundreds of South Asian, Arab, and Muslim youth living in New York City gathered to discuss how the presidential election would affect their lives and how they could get involved in the democratic process. The event focused on how these often-disenfranchised youth could participate by learning about the issues, registering to vote (if they are qualified), and joining non-profit organisations at a fair set up on site at New York University's School of Law. Panelists included speakers from the ACLU and Rock The Vote. Workshops addressed a range of issues, from reproductive health to media literacy to community organising.

Voter registration efforts are designed to cohere with young people's creative and cultural commitments and contexts. For instance, at the event "Laff it Up... AND VOTE!!", four South Asian/Arab-American comedians educated and entertained youth (presented by Joe's Pub at the Public Theater in association with the Imagine Festival of Arts, Issues and Ideas). Other voter registration drives are held at a variety of spaces in New York City; they are combined with activities such as monthly dance parties (Basement Bhangra and Bollywood Disco); India Day, Pakistan Day and Labor Day Parades; and "Bridge & Tunnel" (a one-woman show by Sarah Jones).

Youth, Rights, Political Development.

Breakthrough, an international human rights organisation using popular culture and education, was motivated to create Speak Up! Act Up! based on the conviction that "Current US policies relating to immigration and reproductive rights violate the American values of equality, justice, and dignity - in short, they violate our human rights. These sweeping policies are prejudiced and an ineffective use of limited resources for uncertain security benefit." The group indicates that, particularly in light of increasingly tight security measures taken to protect United States residents in the aftermath of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, "13,000 immigrants [have been] deported after complying with Special Registration rules. Most were deported for relatively minor offenses and the deportations tore their families apart, forcing them to live in separate countries often halfway around the world."